TANGKA REPRÉSENTANT AMITABHATIBET OCCIDENTAL, XVE SIÈCLEHimalayan Art Resources item no. 144787 x 81 cm (34 1/4 x 31 7/8 in.)Provenance: A THANGKA OF AMITABHAWEST TIBET, 15TH CENTURY藏西 十五世紀 無量光佛唐卡The Five Tathagatas, or Celestial Buddhas,prise one of the most important gro of esoteric Buddhist deities described in the Yoga Tantras. Illustrated at the center of this painting is Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, who presides over the Lotus family of Buddhas within the Western quadrant of a mandala. He is distinguished from the other Tathagatas by his reddish appearance, the pair of peacocks supporting his throne, and the gesture of meditation he displays while cradling an alms bowl in his hands (dhyana mudra).Unique among iconographic arrangements is the painting's use of bracketed registers to demarcate Buddha-fields. Here, the right half of the painting depicts the Tathagatas Akshobya and Vairocana, while the left half portrays the Medicine Buddha Bhaishajyaguru and the goddess Prajnaparamita in meditation. Located at the lower register is Amitayus, the Buddha of Infinite Life, whose name and identity are often used interchangeably with Amitabha's, and a lama wearing a patchwork robe and a pointed red cap. Based on his heavyset appearance, in addition to his right arm extended forward in the earth-witnessing gesture (bhumisparsha mudra), this figure likely represents Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen (1292-1361), who was arguably one of the most influential and eccentric teachers of Jonang monastery in Tsang. Several examples of his unique portraiture are preserved in Tsuglakang Temple, Lhasa, and are published in von Schroeder,Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Vol. II, p. 1203, nos. 328C-F.Dolpopa's inclusion into the painting, in addition to Amitabha's protrudingushnisha, slender eyelids, and wide cranium all reflect the style of paintings produced in both Ngari, West Tibet, and the southern central region of Tsang. The practice of applying gold roundels to the forehead and cheeks to the central figure, as well as on the three other Buddhas seated on thrones with scrolling trails of makaras, draw parallels to a West Tibetan Buddha painting published in Pal,Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, 2003, p. 151, no. 99. Alsopare the checkered banners embellishing the temples behind Amitabha to a painting of Shadbuja Mahakala holding a similar banner in the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art (HAR 90544).